Sunset Cantina argues that it may be the perfect place to celebrate or commiserate Valentine’s Day over dinner with a group of friends. Valentine’s Day lies on a Saturday this year, and Sunset Cantina is rising to the occasion. If this a typical Saturday at the mexican hot spot, the restaurant is expected to be teeming with big groups of single college students going out for the night.
“Traditionally for Valentine’s Day, we’re not much of a couples place,” said Dave Nassiff, the manager of Sunset Cantina. “We tend to get a lot of groups of people, like singles. They’ll come in to celebrate or commiserate being single and get pitchers of drinks or nachos and just hang out.”
Trading a girlfriend or a boyfriend for a big group of friends and some nachos might not sound like a bad deal.
Sunset Cantina’s atmosphere is full of bustling conversation and laughter between large tables and booths. The restaurant offers easily shared portions, and welcomes big groups of young adults with open arms.
It’s important to note that Sunset Cantina doesn’t take reservations. According to Nassiff, the decision came from the fact that student schedules frequently vary. The restaurant has never had a problem filling up tables, however. With Sunset Cantina’s surging popularity among students, there are typically extended waits during dinner rush hours, but the restaurant stays open until 1:00 a.m. on weeknights and 2:00 a.m. on weekends.
Students can expect to spend around $20 to $30 during a typical visit to Sunset Cantina if they buy “two drinks and some food,” according to Nassiff.
Sunset Cantina hopes to add some Tex-Mex spice to your Valentine’s Day this weekend. Boston College students just have to head down Commonwealth Ave. on the B line for 3.1 miles—or about twenty minutes—and get off at St. Paul station. Once they arrive, Sunset Cantina will be glowing with neon signs and faces of local students on the right.
Since its founding in 2003, the Tex-Mex restaurant has been a hotspot for Boston University students and faculty. It offers a large and sharable smorgasbord of Southern and Mexican food, from burgers and ribs to fajitas and tacos. Students can go one night and experience Southern cuisine, and another night they can drop below the border and taste what Mexico has to offer.
According to NAssiff, the nachos are “one-hundred percent” the most popular item on the menu. The nachos are available to order in small and large sizes, and both portions are hefty enough to be shared as an appetizer or as a meal. The comfort-food delicacy offers a synthesis of the greatest hits of Mexican and Southern food: Barbeque chicken, Cajun chicken, pulled pork, and steak are all viable contenders to top an already divine plate of chips, melted cheese, guacamole, and sour cream.
The wide array of choices and combinations does not stop on the food menu. For those above the legal drinking age, Sunset Cantina offers 150 unique tequilas, as well as an assortment of blue, pink, and traditional margaritas, and forty different beers on tap. The rustic bar is a popular place to drink with friends and other college students while waiting for a table, or just stopping in for a quick bite.
Sunset Cantina is aware of college students’ tight budgets, and has been working with distributors to provide drink specials at a low price. Most recently, the restaurant paired with Coors and offered cheap pitchers of beer during the NFL playoffs. Nassiff anticipates Sunset Cantina will provide more food and drink specials during March Madness.
Looking to the future, Sunset Cantina has challenged more BC students to burst out of their seclusion in Chestnut Hill and challenge BU’s dominance of the restaurant. Things could get heated between Terriers and Eagles, however, with Sunset Cantina’s nachos thrown in the mix, no one should have anything to fight about.
Featured Images by Anthony Perasso / Heights Staff
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